Wednesday, June 4

Redd Faced

“There’s a lot of talk about acquiring Michael Redd from the Milwaukee Bucks, and it might be realistic. ... A lineup that includes Delonte West and Redd at guard is pretty appealing.

“Redd will make $15.8 million, $17 million and $18.3 million (player option) the next three seasons. The Cavs have Szczerbiak’s $13 million and Damon Jones’ $4.5 million in expiring contracts to work with.”

In case you failed to read between the lines, Sam Presti could have acquired the following by packaging Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West (or Luke Ridnour or Earl Watson) this summer:

1. Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, and Adrian Griffin,

Or

2. Michael Redd.

How does that taste, Sonic fans? I’ll tell you what it tastes like to me, it tastes like garbage. The Sonics have already let Newble walk away, and Griffin’s deal expired, leaving Marshall’s $5 million expiring deal to show for what will be the starting backcourt for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Care to take a guess as to what the Sonics will do with a $5 million expiring contract at the trading deadline next February? Considering that Kurt Thomas’ contract was worth almost twice Marshall’s, and considering that Thomas had twice the value of Marshall as a basketball player, I’m guessing that Sam Presti will be lucky to get a fourth round pick for Donyell, and that’s only because there’s only two rounds in the draft to begin with.

Worse yet, the Sonics essentially threw away Delonte West simply because PJ Carlesimo couldn’t figure out how to use him. Let me get this straight, Mike Brown – who is nowhere near the brightest mind in the NBA coaching academy – can figure out how to use West, but PJ can’t? What does that say about the future of the Sonics?

Granted, the due date on PJ’s library card might be next February, but, still, shouldn’t the guy running the team have a modicum of insight into how to utilize his assets? Of course, that’s assuming the people running the team placed a higher emphasis on the win/loss column than on Clay Bennett’s legal bills, which is a foolish assumption to make, I know.

But let’s assume that wasn’t the case, and the Sonics were run by people who were trying to win games. The starting lineup this November could conceivably look something like this:

PG: DJ AugustineSG: ReddSF: DurantPF: WilcoxC: Collison

Plus, coming off the bench we’ve got Green, someone like Chris Douglas-Roberts, the remainder of The Watson/West/Ridnour Trio, and The Francisco Elson All-Stars. Plus, if the Sonics trade down from #4 to, say, the #10 pick to get Augustine (according to Chad Ford, they’re already exploring the possibility of dealing down), they might pick up another first-rounder in an upcoming draft, or an expiring contract. Plus, Chris Wilcox will be playing out of his mind next season in order to cash in during the summer, so you know the Sonics could easily pick up something valuable for him at the trade deadline. Plus, even though you’re overpaying Redd, his deal will come off the books by the time your superstar draft picks start getting their extensions.

This isn’t some pie-the-in-sky scenario that involves other teams trading superstars for your retreads, it just involves regular, everyday NBA trades. Now, it could be argued that Milwaukee would be less likely to part with Redd if they had to take back Ridnour/Watson/West's contract in return, but what if the Sonics sweetened the pot with one of their 37 draft picks in the next three seasons? Are you telling me the Bucks would say no to a $13 million expiring contract, a #1 pick, and a servicable point guard in exchange for a guy they already want to get rid of?

What’s most frustrating of all isn’t that Presti didn’t make the move because he’s a moron, it’s that he didn’t make the move because his boss is more interested in saving money than in winning games.

The irony in all of this is that Sonic fans have waited a dozen years since Bob Whitsitt skipped down I-5 to Portland for a savvy GM, and now we’ve finally got one, only his genius is hamstrung by corrupt ownership. At least when Rick Sund and Wally Walker were stocking the roster with 7’ stiffs we knew they were doing it with the mindset of improving the team.

Now? Now we’ve got a boy genius who could be composing symphonies, only his dad won’t let him listen to anything but Conway Twitty.

10 comments:

ryan
said...

No way Presti makes that move - at this point he's just shedding every contract he can, so he's not about to pick up a 3-year deal (you know Redd will be all over that player option like Danny Forston on an all-you-can buffet) that pays someone $16 million a year. Especially when the team isn't going to be any good during those years, anyways.

Yeah, a duo of Kevin Durant and Michael Redd at the wing positions would've provided shit for defense. Neither Durant nor Redd are worth a damn at getting their teammates involved on offense, too, so that'd've been a massive drawback of them playing together. Besides, as has been previously mentioned on here, Redd is vastly overrpaid for his one-dimensional skill set.

Nonetheless, it's true that Sam Presti dealt Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cleveland Cavaliers for complete and utter crap. Presti and Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry were once co-workers with the San Antonio Spurs, however, which explains the reasoning behind such a transaction. I still abhor Presti's figurative fellating of Ferry, though; it's just another example of the good ol' boys network.

Yet, in any event, my expectation remains that the Milwaukee Bucks will trade Redd and Dan Gadzuric to the Cavaliers for Szczerbiak and Damon Jones. It just makes too much sense for both organizations. The Bucks would cut costs by slashing future payroll obligatons, while the Cavaliers would get the sharp-shooting Redd -- who'd mesh well alongside LeBron James and either West or Daniel Gibson -- to solidify its lineup.

You're right that Redd isn't going to save the franchise, and that is defense is lacking, but the point wasn't so much that Redd was going to be the savior of the franchise as it was that he's a heckuva lot better than what they wound up with. Plus, how valuable would he be in a couple of years when his contract is expiring? How many first-round picks could you get for an expiring $18 mil. contract?

"There is talk out of Jermaine O’Neal’s camp that he anticipates being trade to Cleveland at some point this summer, possibly in a deal involving expiring contracts such as Wally Szczerbiak and Eric Snow."

I remember reading somewhere that Eric Snow plans on filing for retirement this off-season; thus, a trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers will probably involve Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Damon Jones -- who've all got expiring contracts -- being dealt for Jermaine O'Neal.

O'Neal, however, doesn't fill the Cavaliers' major need for acquiring someone who's got long-distance range at shooting guard -- since a defensive stopper like Aleksander Pavlovic isn't the answer there -- nonetheless, Danny Ferry could select Brandon Rush, Chase Budinger, or Chris Douglas-Roberts with the team's first-round draft pick—alhough it's questionable as to whether or not one of those guys would make an immediate impact.